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These 5 Women Are Among Yale's Most Famous Grads

Five presidents have attended Yale University in New Haven, but they aren’t the only famous graduates. Some of the world’s most famous women also attended the world-renown school. 

Oscar winners Lupita Nyong'o and Meryl Street are both graduates of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.

Oscar winners Lupita Nyong'o and Meryl Street are both graduates of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.

 Photo Credit: Lupita Nyong’o: Stephanie Moreno/Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications for Peabody Awards/University of Georgia; Meryl Streep: Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan. Both via Wikimedia Commons.
Daily Voice

From groundbreaking entrepreneurs to award-winning actors, these women have made their mark on the world in many ways.

  • Meryl Streep. Streep, who holds the record for most Oscar nominations (with 21) of any actor, is a graduate of Yale’s drama school with a Master’s in Fine Arts in 1975. With a career spanning five decades and counting, Streep, a longtime Litchfield County resident, is far from done.
  • Lupita Nyong'o. Fellow Oscar winner Nyong’o graduated from the same program but in 2012. The Kenyan-raised actor is known for her roles in 12 Years a Slave, Black Panther, Us, and many other notable films. Nyong’o was also one of People magazine’s Most Beautiful Woman in 2019 and has become a role model for many young women around the world with her activism.
  • Madeline Albright. The first woman Secretary of State of the United States (1997-2001), Madeleine Albright, graduated from Yale with a Master’s degree in International Relations in 1972. Albright also served as US ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1996. She helped pave the way for future women leaders, both in the US and around the world.
  • Hillary Clinton. A 1973 Yale Law School grad (and where she famously met Bill) Hillary Clinton is one of the most famous women to have graduated from Yale University. She was the first female presidential candidate of a major political party. The former New York senator has been a powerful advocate for many causes including healthcare reform, civil rights, and women’s rights.
  • Indra Nooyi. India’s Indra Nooyi earned her MBA at Yale in 1980. Nooyi most famously went on to become the CEO and chairwoman of PepsiCo, where she oversaw the company’s growth into one of the most successful corporations in the world. During her tenure as CEO, Nooyi was responsible for the successful expansion of PepsiCo’s global footprint into more than 200 countries.

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